Crusade against the Pope

Chapter 99 Wealth and honor, don’t forget each other

In theory, most manors would attempt to become an internally self-sufficient economy, which was possible in the Middle Ages.

After all, the old farmers in the Middle Ages were not as picky as some people in later generations who would die without coffee.

The old farmers of this era, whether serfs or freemen, were essentially different types of crops, and only needed land, sunlight, water, and air to survive. And the lord would harvest their fruits with a sickle every year.

In the desolate world of the Middle Ages, these manors were like isolated islands, isolated from the outside world most of the time.

The concept of strangers, for the residents of these isolated islands, is actually similar to the concept of foreigners in the eyes of later generations. As for the pagans in the 12th century, for the residents of the native manors in Western Europe, they are actually similar to aliens.

As a strange outsider, Garys naturally attracted a lot of attention. Even with Charlie's family as a guarantor, he would still be pointed at.

But this kind of pointing and criticizing is not purely malicious. It is simply that the appearance of Garys has added more topics to talk about in their boring lives.

Garys's identity as a survivor of the bandit disaster also adds a touch of tragedy to him, and the villagers are also worried that they will encounter similar tragedies.

Of course, Garys didn't lie about this matter. He did experience banditry, but the fate of those Bedouin bandits was different from what the villagers in the manor thought.

One day passed, two days passed...

Garys never did anything out of the ordinary. He was like a real farmer, doing a lot of farm work with Charlie.

Feeding livestock, grazing sheep, clearing weeds from the fields, and making preparations for the upcoming autumn ploughing.

In just two days, Gellis became one of the most integrated Frankish freemen.

Yes, in Charles' village, the majority of the population were Frank freemen, with a small number of Frank serfs, while in the entire manor, the majority of the Muslim serfs gathered into separate villages and were distributed in other places.

According to Charlie's description, Labret Manor is a large manor with a relatively square area. The butler's house, church and various production facilities such as mills, ovens and wine pressing equipment are located in the center of the manor.

There are many small villages scattered around the center of the manor, with a small population and number of households. But the distribution range is actually quite particular. First, Muslims and Christians do not live together. Second, the number of Frankish villages is small, closer to the center of the manor, and more located at road intersections.

Obviously, such a distribution is beneficial for feudal lords to control and suppress Muslims by relying on the power of Christians.

To the Franks in the village, although Gellis was a stranger, he could be barely classified as one of "us".

Another day of farm work has ended, but the sun is still early to set, so a group of people sit on the edge of the field and chat.

"Are you kidding? Does Aurore's sister really have such a big butt?" Gailis had a greasy and obscene smile on his face.

The young men on the side didn't care at all, or perhaps it was because Garys took over the conversation that they felt that Garys was a good brother.

"Of course! How could this be false? Let me tell you, there are people from the neighboring village who want to come and propose marriage, but Aurore firmly disagrees! He is afraid that his sister will suffer if she marries far away."

Many people get excited when talking about other people's gossip.

"How old is that girl?" Gailis asked curiously, smacking his lips.

"Thirteen! It's the age to get married!"

When Gailis heard the number thirteen, he was stunned for a moment. This meant that she was younger than Isabella.

But among the people around me, getting married at the age of thirteen is natural and there is nothing to question about it.

One of the brothers noticed Gailis's expression and teased him, "Why, are you attracted to her? Let me tell you, Aurore's sister may seem easy to give birth to, but in fact, she is not easy to marry. Her family is not well off and can't afford a dowry at all!"

"No, not really." Gailis denied it with a smile, and then said again: "I am thinking about my brother. Simon has been a dull boy since he was young. If I don't think more about him, I'm afraid he will be single for the rest of his life."

"Besides, how could your family be worse off than ours? Do we have the qualifications to get a dowry? If it weren't for Brother Charlie taking us in, we would have been in such a miserable state if we hadn't been caught by bandits!"

When they heard Garys say that he was in trouble, the simple-minded young men around him restrained their expressions. It could be seen that they were all good guys.

Some people even changed the subject: "There's nothing to do at this hour, is there anything fun to do?"

“By the way, I found a big beehive!” Someone boasted to the people around him as if he was presenting a treasure.

When people heard this person talking about beehives, their mouths began to water. White sugar is quite difficult to get these days, and honey is the most direct sweetener.

Just thinking about the taste of honey makes some people breathe heavier.

"Where?"

Seeing the reactions of the people around him, the man became very proud and pointed to a forest not far away.

"There it is!"

Looking in the direction of the finger, many people immediately backed off.

"Hey! That's the master's forest!"

Nowadays, almost everything in the manor actually belongs to the lord. According to the standards of the Celestial Empire, freemen are strictly speaking just tenants who pay very little rent.

Excluding the freemen's own houses, most of the surrounding woods, meadows, and ponds belonged to the master.

The master's things are things that people don't want and are thrown there to rot, break, or stink... As long as they are not told to be given to you, you will be guilty if you pick them up.

If you pick up firewood without permission, you will be tied up and whipped, let alone poking a beehive.

Seeing the look on the faces of the people around him, Gailis spat on the ground and rubbed his hands.

"What are you afraid of! Could that old man know magic? Today, I will lead you to poke the beehive. Just don't let anyone know about this!"

"But that beehive is quite high, and it might be poisonous. If we run into a forest ranger, we'll be in trouble..."

Gellis stood up directly. With a height of 1.78 meters, he stood out even among the Franks in that era.

The people squatting on the edge of the field looked up and felt that he was unusually tall.

"Why are you talking so much! Why can the masters taste the honey water but we peasants can't?"

A few steps into the forest, some distance from the ranger's hut, under the branch of a tree, there was a beehive larger than a human head hanging there.

Garys and a group of people stared at the hive for a long time. Bees as big as fingers were constantly coming in and out.

The taste of honey surged in everyone's taste buds, but no one dared to take a step forward. "Gailis, how about we just forget it... What if we get discovered, what if we get stung by a bee..."

Someone was trying to persuade Gaillis, and that person's eyes were full of concern, which was completely different from the previous days.

If we say that some days ago, Gailis and they were just strangers, and at most considered as fellow believers, then when Gailis was willing to bring them to this beehive, they really became "us".

"What are you afraid of? If the sky falls, tall people will hold it up. I'm the tallest here! Go away from me later. If you get discovered, just pretend you don't know! As for this bee, it can't hurt me!"

As he spoke, Garys strode forward, picked up a stick from the ground, and walked under the tree.

At this time, the people behind him looked at Gailis with even more admiration.

This new brother is not bragging! He really cares about us!
At this time, don't talk about whether it is bees or not, or whether it is the lord of the forest or not. Just based on this act of poking the beehive for us brothers, if Garys is not a brother, then who is a brother!
With Garys's skills, there was nothing much to say, and he didn't act too exaggerated. He just climbed up the tree a few times like a monkey, and when the stick could reach it, he poked it down with just two stabs.

Then, with a snap, the hive fell down.

Along with it, there are swarms of bees taking off.

When Garys jumped down from a two-meter-high tree and ran all the way out of the forest, he suddenly saw that those stupid boys had not gone far!

"No, you guys!" Gailis didn't bother to say anything else, and finally uttered one sentence: "Run!"

Behind him, the dense swarms of flying bees had already arrived.

Those guys originally thought that if they just walked away, they would appear to be disloyal, but they never considered that the reason why Gailis asked them to go away was mainly because he was afraid that the bees would sting them.

On the ground, four or five young men were running towards the setting sun, with wild bees flying behind them.

But their faces were not sad, instead they were full of laughter, playing a different kind of music with the swarm of bees behind them.

Since Garys came, they have more to talk about and more fun in their lives.

The originally dark and gloomy world seemed to become colorful because of Garys.

……

In the end, they failed to get the honey, because when Garys and his group shook the bees away, they saw that the beehive seemed to have been picked up by someone.

But it didn't matter. They left the field arm in arm and walked towards the village.

One of them suddenly realized something and said directly: "If one day one of us becomes rich, we should not forget each other!"

"Ha! How could such a good thing happen to us? Charlie went out to fight in the war, and he was a hard laborer for several months before he was released! Jacques, we don't even know whether that guy is alive or dead!"

"Alas! How can a tiny sparrow understand the lofty ambitions of an eagle?"

As soon as that person said this, the person next to him slapped him twice on the body. This person actually made fun of them and called them sparrows!

Garys looked at the young people, not knowing what he was thinking, but a smile appeared on his lips.

"Don't worry, we won't forget each other."

In the minds of these young people, in just two days, Gailis had already become their fellow traveler.

But when these people returned to the village, there were no smiles on their faces anymore.

A team of people was at the entrance of the village not far away.

Garys recognized the man in the lead. He had been here yesterday and was the steward of the manor. He had asked about Garys's background, but Charlie covered it up for him.

The so-called steward is actually someone who helps the lord manage the manor. After all, the lord has so many manors that it is impossible for him to take care of them all, so naturally he needs someone to manage them on his behalf.

The butler was dressed in clean and beautiful clothes, and at a glance he could be distinguished from the free people around him.

Judging from the respectful attitude of the people around him, he is obviously the supreme being in this manor.

"…The spring harvest this year is indeed not good, and everyone has suffered. The lord has also increased taxes. I know you are having a hard time, but so am I." The man spoke with helplessness in his tone, with his hands slightly spread out.

"My grandfather worked here like you in his early years. Just as the scriptures say, 'The rich work hard to accumulate wealth so that they can enjoy a comfortable life when they retire.' That is why my family is free from hunger and cold today. This is a gift from Heavenly Father, and it is also a reward for my family's generosity for generations."

"As their descendants, we should follow the family motto, be kind, act justly, and show kindness to all, so that we can protect our descendants and receive the infinite blessings of Heavenly Father."

The man spoke very beautifully, but the more beautifully he spoke, the more confused and even frightened many people around him became.

The families who were facing them simply fell to their knees and began to tremble all over.

After seeing those families clearly, Gailis was a little stunned, then stunned. Then he came to Simon's side, pulled Simon and signaled him not to lose his temper.

"I also understand your difficulties."

"I'm afraid there will be a war next year. The taxes are so heavy. You can postpone the miscellaneous items that you should pay to next year. I will pay for you. As for the autumn ploughing, if you are really in need, you can come and borrow some seeds from me. I will emulate my grandfather's virtues."

When the man said that he could borrow some seeds, the people on the ground were already crying.

Obviously, these were not tears of joy, but rather there was a hidden story unknown to the public.

Even many people on the side showed pity.

After saying these words, the butler, who seemed to have completed a favor, turned around and left the village, got on a carriage, and headed towards the butler's mansion in the distance.

Simon was furious, but he didn't know how to vent his anger, because among those kneeling families were Jacques' mother and sister.

Although there was one thing Simon couldn't understand, he didn't understand why the more beautifully the butler spoke, the more frightened the people around him became.

But Simon noticed one thing: when the butler looked at Jacques' sister Emma, ​​he clearly revealed his greed.

"Sir, can you tell me what is going on?" Simon turned and expressed his confusion to Garys.

　Second update. Due to my work and rest schedule, I will continue to write. Let’s see how much I can write tonight.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)